Recommended Scanners for Album Art Scanning

Here’s a quick list of currently available scanner models that I recommend for people doing album art scanning.

The Criteria

I’m not covering scanning 12″ vinyl in this guide. For that, you need a large format scanner, which is a completely different price category of professional equipment – or use a camera and a glare-free lighting rig instead.

There are two basic kinds of scanners currently available, distinguished by the type of image sensor: CCD and CIS (Contact Image Sensor). The difference is that CCD sensors have a much larger depth of field. This is important in particular if you’re scanning digipak cases – with a CCD sensor, you can scan right through the tray without disassembling the case. It also improves the quality when scanning exterior of boxes or thick booklets that don’t lay completely flat. CIS sensors can only get a sharp image if the thing being scanned is perfectly flat against the glass surface.

The scanner must be able to do 600dpi scanning (non-interpolated). This is pretty much a given at this point, of course, since even the cheapest current model scanner can usually pull off 1200dpi or higher. But keep this in mind when looking for used or older model scanners.

The scanner must be a direct-connection USB device. Many network scanners and all-in-one devices apply compression and pre-filtering that often can’t be disabled; this reduces the effectiveness of later descreening steps. Scanners marketed as “Photo” scanners are usually good at preserving fine detail without compression artifacts.

If you’re scanning CD discs, A scanner with CCD sensor and LED lighting creates a very noticable pattern. It’s possible to work around it, but you won’t see the issue at all if you pick up a scanner with a CIS sensor instead of (or in addition to) the CCD scanner.

The List

Last updated 2022-08-03. (Last change: Epson discontinued the V370) At the moment, I’m only tracking big global brands of scanners; if you have any other suggestions for widely-available models, or updates, please let me know! Comment here, or mention me on twitter @kepstin.

I list the CCD and CIS scanners separately, to make it easier to select a model based on that feature. The scanners are listed roughly in order of preference, but any one on the list will provide you with good-looking scans.

Current Model Scanners

Scanners with CCD Sensors

Epson Perfection V600 aka GT-X830 (MSRP: $229.99 US) The lowest end model of Epson’s CCD-based photo scanners that hasn’t yet been discontinued. Includes film scanning, at the expense of a heavy lid. Quite a large, bulky device. LED lighting. Fully supported on Windows and Mac OS X. Works on Linux, but only using Epson’s proprietary drivers (binary blob, x86/x86-64 only). If you can still find the discontinued Epson Perfection V370 (GT-S740) or V37 (GT-S640) around, that could be a cheaper option with all the same downsides. Note that the V39 uses a CIS sensor, not CCD.

Scanners with CIS Sensors

Canon CanoScan LiDE 300 (or LiDE 120) (MSRP: $69.99 US) Canon’s basic LiDE model. A cheap and readily available scanner model that will produce quite satisfactory results. A used older-model LiDE scanner is a great second scanner if you just want something that will make nice-looking optical disc scans. This model is fully supported on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux (if your distribution has a recent SANE version). USB-powered (no separate power cord). The higher end LiDE 400 and 220 models have slightly faster scan speeds.

Epson Perfection V19 (MSRP: $69.99 US) Epson’s entry-level photo scanner. A bit harder to find than the Canon model. Fully supported on Windows and Mac OS X. Works on Linux, but requires a binary blob (x86/x86_64 only). USB-powered (no separate power cord). The slightly more expensive V39 doesn’t add any features useful for cover art scanning.

What Scanner do I use?

I currently have three scanners:

I normally use the Epson Perfection V330 (GT-S730 in Japan) (discontinued) for general scanning, including album art. This model includes the film scanner in the lid – which I don’t use. Had it not been on sale, I would have preferred the model without the film support (V33). Due to driver issues on Linux, I often end up scanning in Windows when working on album art.

For CD scans and whenever I need a scanner that “just works” and is easy to use, I have a Canon LiDE 120. Every feature on this scanner is supported on Linux, and the only downside is that it’s kinda tricky to get things to lay flat enough to be in focus on the scanner bed.

I have an old second-hand Epson Perfection 1250 as well. I don’t use it much – I picked it up just for the comparison on my Scanning CDs with CCD/LED scanners post. As an old scanner with an aged CCFL light source, it has significant issues with brightness and colour accuracy. It’s supported by SANE on Linux, but doesn’t work with any current Windows version.

Finding older model or used scanners

Since the 600dpi requirement isn’t all that high, you’ll probably be able to find many used or older-model scanners available that meet the requirements I’ve outlined. Here’s a few hints on what to look for:

• If the scanner is thinner than about 2″ / 5cm, it’s almost certainly a CIS sensor. Thicker scanners are usually CCD sensor.
• Scanners marketed as “Film” or “Film and Negative” scanners almost certainly use a CCD sensor. However, they generally have a much heavier/awkward lid that can’t be detached, due to the need for additional moving parts and an extra light source for the film scanner adapter.
• Sometimes the model numbers can contain a hint. For Canon, “LiDE” means CIS sensor. For HP, models with a ‘G’ prefix on the model number are usually higher-end photo scanners.
• Epson keeps the tech details for at least some older models online, so you can look up info by searching.
• Many older scanners (particularly HP models) lack drivers for recent versions of Windows (7+), but are otherwise still good enough – and they might have working Linux support. You can often use the commercial VueScan software to use old scanners with newer Windows (and otherwise unsupported scanners on Linux), but use the trial to test your scanner before committing.
• To check for Linux support, go to the SANE Supported Scanners Search Engine and enter the scanner make and model. For best results, you want a driver with a “good” rating or higher.

A few models in particular that I’d consider looking for on the used market are the CanoScan 9000F / CanoScan 9000F Mark II (High end CCD-based photo scanners with very good Linux support), the current model Epson Perfection V600/GT-X830 (described above) or V850/GT-X980 (unlike other current Epson models, this one is supported by SANE) occasionally show up, and older Epson scanners like the V370/GT-F740, V37/GT-S64, V330/GT-F7300, V33/GT-S630 will generally be a good buy. Canon LiDE series scanners from older series: 100, 110, 200, 210 are also good options.